All the Little Truths (English Prep 3)

“Things change, Missy,” I forced out, moving past her to grab a soda. “Much like your ever-changing hair color. What even is your natural color?”

“You should know. You’ve been downstairs a time or two.” She winked as her friends giggled behind her.

I arched an eyebrow, ready to retaliate. “Hmm,” I thought out loud, appearing bored. “It’s a shame I can’t remember much from when I fucked you. I guess you’re not all that memorable. Same ol, same ol. Just another boring lay.”

She gasped, her cheeks turning red as she glanced around the moving line. “Oh, whatever. That’s not true. If it was, why did you come back for seconds?”

I simply stated the truth. “Because you were easy, that’s why.”

Ollie’s loud laugh came from behind me, but I brushed it off.

Missy’s face blanched as she tried to come up with something good to say, but she couldn’t, because she was easy, and she knew it. “Look,” I started, grabbing a slice of pizza and placing it on my tray. “I don’t mean to be a dick. I don’t enjoy putting girls down. But”—I gave her a look that had her wavering—“keep Madeline’s name out of your mouth and we’ll be good, all right?”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Wow.”

“What?”

“I never thought I’d see the day where you stuck up for her. Makes me wonder what changed.”

She did. That’s what.

Missy must have been finished with the conversation, because she flipped her hair behind her shoulder and began chatting with her friends.

“Makes me wonder, too,” Ollie said from behind my shoulder. When I turned around, he was avoiding eye contact with me. He even began whistling, as if he wasn’t the one who had said it.

I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be able to tell my friends the truth. It was Madeline’s business. The abuse, the sexual assault. Those were two very personal subjects, and Madeline didn’t trust people easily.

“You’re just going to have to trust me, Ol. I would tell you if I could.”

Ollie ran a hand through his blonde hair before nodding. “I got you. Just know we’re here for you, Madeline or not. I’ve already talked to Christian. He’s gonna lay off.”

I tipped my chin and threw up a fist. He pounded it, and we gathered the rest of our lunches. Once I got back to our table, Piper and Hayley were already chowing down and talking adamantly in between bites about something that I didn’t care about. Christian was talking to Kyle, and Ollie was already halfway done with his food even though we had grabbed our lunches at the same time.

I stayed standing until I caught a swirl of blonde hair in the lunch line. Madeline was holding a cup in her hand, teetering back and forth on her feet, trying to decide what she wanted to drink. She was so fucking hot in her schoolgirl uniform. I understood why she thought no one wanted her anymore, because she was publicly shut down and her friends had turned their backs on her, but she was truly dense if she thought the guys in this school didn’t long to be in between her legs.

I chuckled under my breath as I took a step backwards away from the table, ready to remind her that she wasn’t getting out of sitting with me. But as soon as I went to step away, I heard the crash of something up ahead. The lunchroom quieted for a moment, or maybe it was just in my head, because the look of panic on Madeline’s face tore through me like a fucking jackhammer. Her drink was splayed on the floor around her feet, her blue eyes big and round.

“Is she paralyzed?” Piper asked honestly. “What’s wrong with her? Did someone knock her drink out of her hand?”

“Eric.” Hayley’s voice was a warning of sorts, but I continued to stare at Madeline and her mannerisms. What was going on? “Do you recognize that man?”

My eyes scanned past Madeline, and I locked onto an older man standing beside Headmaster Walton near the two cafeteria oak doors. He was tall and clearly very wealthy by the look of his suit. His dark hair didn’t move an inch, likely full of expensive gel, as he nodded to something the headmaster had said. The man had no interest is whatever the conversation was about because his lip curved upward as he stared back at Madeline. He winked, and my vision blurred.

I glanced back at Madeline who was slowly stepping backwards, away from her spilled drink. Her naturally pink cheeks lacked color, matching the whiteness of her school blouse.

Who the fuck was—

My head tilted in a predatory way as I sliced my attention back to the man. Headmaster Walton was urging him to take a look at something across the room, nodding and slowly striding to whatever it was.

“Ollie,” I barked, not letting my gaze waver from the man. “Go look out the window. Tell me if you see a cherry-red Porsche parked up front.” It fucking couldn’t be.

Ollie must have recognized the vileness in my voice because he was up and out of his seat before the words even piled out of my mouth. “On it,” he shouted back.

The longer I stared at the man, the more my heart pounded. My skin itched as blood came rushing to the surface. I wanted so badly to look at Madeline, but I was too afraid to take my eyes off of the man, too afraid he’d slip from my grasp before I could get to him.

“Yeah.” Ollie came rushing back. “There’s a red Porsche. What’s going on?”

The cafeteria doors opened and closed, and I saw the tail end of Madeline’